"Blizzard"

[vinyl-raven.livejournal.com]

Teel Square
So my roomate tried to save a parking space in front of our apartment. All day today we left a cement bucket and a chair to make it painfully obvious that is was saved. Other roommates and myself have been shoveling it out all day pretty much, we just walk out side and notice someone else who doesn't live here has moved out the spot we left for out roomie. I could have sworn that people last year saved spots, I mean has that changed?
Anyways we my roomies and me just had a huge argument with the people that snake the spot we've been maintaining empty. Since they refused to move, my other roomies decided that since breaking their windows wasnt an option, we decided to shovel in thier car.

Comments

[tisana.livejournal.com]

That's good.
Not much they can do about that.

[lissie930.livejournal.com]

I live down in Union Square, and people definitely save spots around here, and it tends to be respected...Though I believe Somerville has threatened to send trucks around taking everything that was used to save spots!

[fanw.livejournal.com]

I believe the actual rule is that within two days of a snow emergency you can save spots. After that point it's all up for grabs.

[viellen]

There is no "actual rule". The saving-spots "rule" has as much weight as "playground rules". If you review the Snow Emergency Parking Policies you'll find the only mention of 48hrs is that one can't remain in a spot for more than that amount of time. The mayor actually made a big hubbub last year about how it's not OK to save spots. That said, playground rules can be taken pretty darn seriously by community members that are actually following them :). And props to the OP for your awesome shoveling job.

[knowthyself.livejournal.com]

Talk about 'We don't get mad, we get even!' LOL!!

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

"Teele Square"

[vinyl-raven.livejournal.com]

thanks

[turil.livejournal.com]

Being a publicly owned road, you can't legally "save" spots. However, many long time residents feel entitled to save spaces. As you've discovered, doing so can easily result in mean-spirited sparring between neighbors. Cars seem to bring out the worst in people...

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

well that's rude. but if someone else is within their right to take a space you shoveled out, i think you and your rooommate were within your rights to then shovel their car in. :D

[turil.livejournal.com]

Well, except that one is legal (parking on a public street) and the other (shovelling snow onto someone else's property and into the road) is not.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

My favorite part was, last year, after getting 3 feet of snow in a week, my boy and I shovelled out a space on the opposite side of the road, after the parking ban was lifted. I drive a Mini Cooper, so it doesn't have to be a very big spot. However, a Golf down the street seemed to think we'd cut it out for them--nevermind that it took him three days to finish it. I wanted to break their ankles, and windshield too.

There's no official 'saving' of spots, although you can see why people want to do it.

[zmgmeister.livejournal.com]

Yeah, i know the feeling. The blizzard last winter, we all took time to dig proper spaces for our cars. So i put a garbage can out, and when i come home from work its on the sidewalk, and there's a car in my spot.

So the next day i pack the garbage can with heavy snow. Come home from work, and not only is a car there, but my garbage can is under its bumper.

For the rest of the week i pulled in wherever, doing a half-assed shoveling job just enough for my car to fit.

Saving spots serves a useful function for the community. If i think i'll be able to enjoy the space for a couple of days, i'll shovel it. And if the whole neighborhood thinks that, the street gets cleaned free to the city.

But if not - and saving spaces really bothers some people - , why bother.

[simonbillenness.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad I have no car.

This is perfect - Listen to this!

[bostonartist.livejournal.com]

http://www.wgbh.org/article?item_id=2020890

Click on the 5th Story down :)

"Somerville, Mass. resident Mary Kocol looks on as her neighbors experience the ecstasy of finding the perfect parking space...and the agony of keeping it."

[oakenguy.livejournal.com]

Good for you.

To me, the custom of saving spots is as close to a meritocracy as we ever get. The people with parking spots should be the ones who worked their asses off shovelling them out.

[ceo]

And once again, I thank the gods greater and lesser that our house has a driveway.

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

I used to be a space saver. But I've had a conversion. In a snow emergency, half the parking spaces are gone, and if you were to rank productive uses of the remaining spaces, trash can storage would be low on the list. And saving spaces really brings out the un-neighborly in people. I mean really, someone parked on a public street, and you yelled at them, and then buried their car? Perhaps you thought there was a two-day rule that put you in the right, but there isn't, and you clearly let yourself get really bent out of shape over what really?

Unless you're elderly or handicapped, just put a snow shovel in your trunk and dig. Maybe your neighbors will join in and help.

[bostonartist.livejournal.com]

If you do dig out your car you are doing so because you want to drive somewhere. I don't understand how digging out your car entitles you to tie up that space with an object all day while you are at work or off doing who knows what for who knows how long. We live in a city with limited space and too many cars. We all must learn to share to make it work.

[dent42.livejournal.com]

I take a two fold approach. If I parked my car in a spot before the storm, then I feel like I have no right to save that spot, no matter how hard it was to get my car out. If, however, I spend hours shoveling a spot on the other side of the street, where no cars were parked, I feel I've earned a few days of parking in it at least.